Distracted
by starah
Summary: Takes place before 'Is it College Yet' - Daria has a fight with Tom, and goes over to Jane's to brood. Jane isn't home... but Trent is.


Daria did not know how it had happened.  
  
As the incredibly sweet and understanding guy, Daria hadn't been aware of Tom's mounting frustration until later on that day. They had been casually munching on some pizza for dinner when he had suddenly commented on her way of eating.  
  
"You eat different, Daria,"  
  
He'd said,  
  
"You chew your food different."  
  
Having no idea what had brought that up so suddenly, Daria found herself unresponsive but concentrating on chewing her food a little less vigorously. He jumped on her for that.  
  
"Why are you chewing your food differently now?"  
  
She swallowed, managing to avoid choking in her surprise at the annoyance in his voice.  
  
"What do you mean? I'm not chewing my food differently."  
  
"Yeah you are. You were chewing in this chompy motion. Now you're... nibbling."  
  
A twitch of an eyebrow indicated Daria's irritation at the remark before she answered,  
  
"Well, 'mom', how do you want me to chew it?"  
  
His eyes narrowed and he put down his pizza slice.  
  
"I'm not telling you to do anything."  
  
"Then why did you say anything at all?"  
  
"Just because I'm commenting on something doesn't mean I'm telling you to do something."  
  
"So you said I chew my food differently just for the heck of it."  
  
"Daria, it's just chewing food. Why are you so worked up?"  
  
She looked away, her chest contracting. It *was* a stupid thing to fight about, now that she thought about it.  
  
"Let's change the subject."  
  
"Why don't you stop evading the subject and answer my question?"  
  
Her eyes darted back to her boyfriend in shock. Tom never snapped at her like that unless he was really mad at her about something.  
  
"I'm not evading the subject,"  
  
Daria said, trying to keep her tone light-hearted,  
  
"I'm just changing a subject that is futile to talk about."  
  
"Why do you want to change the subject? Because I'm right?"  
  
She looked at Tom incredulously. He was too busy glaring at his pizza to notice her look of astonishment. In an attempt to break the building tension, Daria quipped,  
  
"Sheesh, Tom, did you forget to take your happy pills or what?"  
  
"Just answer the freaking question, Daria!!!"  
  
He barked. Startled speechless, it took a few moments for her to regain her composure.  
  
"I have no idea what *you're* so worked up on, but *I'm* annoyed because it sounded like you were accusing me of chewing food differently."  
  
"I wasn't accusing you."  
  
"And Quinn went to Oxford, and Jane is a psychotic killer, and Kevin's got a major in--"  
  
"Quit it, Daria! I'm being serious here!"  
  
"Who said *I* wasn't being serious?"  
  
"Daria, all I wanted to state was that maybe, just *maybe*, you should start... changing a little."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"I mean, not that I don't like that way you are now. I mean, I like you for who you are. But I mean... okay, for example, why did you nibble your food after I commented on you?"  
  
"Because I decided to turn into a squirrel. Tom, you were telling me indirectly to stop chewing food like the way I was."  
  
"No I wasn't! I was saying it in a way to sort of symbolise the fact that-- that-- well, for example. Look over there."  
  
"That's... a girl."  
  
"Yes, and she's with her boyfriend, right? She's wearing bright pink and she's talking loudly to her boyfriend --"  
  
"-- who looks like he wants to kill himself right then and there --"  
  
"That's not the point! What I mean is, she's unique and she's displaying it without a shred of shame."  
  
"So you're suggesting I dress up like a cherry and strut around like a girl who's hit her head one too many times against a wall."  
  
"Damn it Daria, just get it that I think you're being way too self-concious."  
  
"Thanks for telling me something I *didn't* know."  
  
"What I mean is, open up a little! To me!"  
  
"Hey, I open up plenty to you."  
  
"Definitely not enough. You hardly acknowledge yourself to me. It's always me who calls on the dates, me who initiates kisses."  
  
"Not always."  
  
"Well, since about a month ago you've been acting like you *expect* *me* to keep our relationship afloat."  
  
"I am *not* expecting anything from you!"  
  
The words got angrier and angrier as they volleyed back and forth, until finally, Daria spiked hard enough to leave him speechless as she stood up and stormed out.  
  
And the whole, stupid thing had started with her chewing food. Damn it.  
  
Funnily enough, she didn't feel guilty. It wasn't that she had purposefully 'ignored' Tom. It was just that she'd gotten used to him. Apparently, Tom wanted her to continue on acting as though he was the best thing that had happened to her.  
  
Thinking of all these things, Daria found herself automatically standing in front of the Lane residence. She paused, then sighed. She wouldn't mention the fight to Jane, but she could definitely do with her company. She checked her watch. A few minutes past eight.  
  
She walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.  
  
There was a long silence. Daria rang the bell again, just in case Jane was in the shower, but there was yet another silence with Daria growing very personal with the front door.  
  
Feeling disappointment seep through her, she turned and started to slump away from the house. She was nearly to the pavement when she heard the door open. Her eyes brightening a little, Daria looked over her shoulder.  
  
Looking a little dishelleved and bleary-eyed, Trent stood framed by the front-door. He blinked a few times before registering on the girl standing in front of his house.  
  
"Daria?"  
  
"Yeah. Is Jane home?"  
  
He still seemed to be in the process of waking up. It took him a few seconds to respond.  
  
"Uhh... she's not here. Out to some convention. Some art thing."  
  
Of course, Daria remembered, the art convention several miles away from Lawndale. Jane had talked to her about it for an entire week. She was so caught up with Tom she had forgotten. Her expression fell.  
  
"Oh... okay then. 'Night."  
  
Trent squinted a little at her before saying, in a voice that now sounded awake,  
  
"You okay?"  
  
He must have caught her crestfallen face. She turned her head away from him, gesturing for him to go back inside.  
  
"It's nothing. Bye, Trent."  
  
She walked along the pavement and hoped he would get the hint. After a moment of stretched silence, Daria heard the welcome shut of the door. She almost sighed in relief, but stopped when she heard footsteps on the gravel behind her.  
  
"You don't look too good."  
  
He said as he fell into step beside her. She stopped walking, and he did too. Avoiding eye-contact, Daria said in the nicest way she could,  
  
"Trent, sorry to be so blunt, but I kind of want to be alone right now?"  
  
"Yeah. That's why you went to find Janey."  
  
"...You're not Jane."  
  
She said, an eye twitching annoyedly. She had on a sullen expression. Didn't that scream she wanted to be alone? Yes, it did. But she went to find a friend. Didn't that mean she wanted company? Yes, it did.  
  
Damn it. She hated it when simple logic worked against hers.  
  
"Yeah, well, Janey took the car, so I'll walk you home."  
  
"Uh, that'll be unnecessary. I know the way home perfectly fine."  
  
To Daria's surprise, he chuckled.  
  
"That's why you're walking the wrong way, huh."  
  
She felt a warmth creep up her neck when she realised he was right. She hastily turned around and started walking briskly to the opposite direction. Trent caught up easily, matching her quick steps with his long strides.  
  
"You look like you need help,"  
  
He remarked.  
  
"You're right, I need some. Know any over-friendly people in white-coats who could help me?"  
  
He laughed in response, followed by a fit of coughs. Daria found it intriguing how he always managed to bring in coughs like that so suddenly. He didn't even speak that much. He had done it when he had mentioned he'd date Daria if she was only older.  
  
It was strange how she found Trent now that she had a boyfriend.  
  
Since their first meeting, Daria had found she liked the way Trent looked. Tall and lanky build with eyes that seemed to have some sort of hidden understanding. He was able to represent himself without feeling idiotic, and even if others thought he should, he didn't seem to really give a damn.  
  
When she had found herself liking Trent in a way she hadn't known possible, Daria had planned to avoid him. However, with a friend like Jane who actually happened to be the sister of her dilemma, and who had caught on her crush pretty quickly, (and also seemed to have a delight in torturing her friend) it had proved to be mission impossible.  
  
The more she hung around the guy, the more Daria found herself liking him. His lack of commitment had driven her off blushing around him, however, and she didn't know Trent as well as she knew Tom. She liked Tom as much as she liked Trent. And because she felt reassured that the feeling between her and Tom was mutual, as well as the fact that she felt she knew what she needed to start a relationship with him, she compacted her feelings for Trent into the corner of her mind.  
  
She cursed herself when she realised those feelings were starting to emerge. The way he smelled, the way he breathed slowly, how his lashes looked against his cheek, the way his hair curled messily and his simple attitude. It was all coming back to her. Daria told the thoughts to buzz off.  
  
She realised he still hadn't said anything. Was he waiting for her to say something? But what could she say? It was obvious something was on her mind, but she wasn't prepared to say anything about Tom to Trent at the moment.  
  
"Hey, if you're not going to say something, I'm going to guess what your problem is."  
  
Daria appreciated how he had waited for her to say something in relation to her problem without trying to guess - at least, not until she had left him in contemplative silence.  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
"It's Tom, isn't it?"  
  
Daria did not say anything, but gave a slight nod.  
  
"I thought so. It's written all over your face."  
  
He pulled his hands out of his pockets, instantly removing the hunch in his shoulders, and appeared to relax a little. Daria was having the polar-opposite effect.  
  
"Thanks for the reassurance. Now I can enter the public without worrying that they'll see what I'm *really* thinking."  
  
"Did you get into a fight with him?"  
  
Damn. He really didn't let himself get diverted, did he?  
  
"If you must know, yes. We had an argument which ended up with me leaving."  
  
He stopped in his tracks, forcing Daria to stop and look at him. He had a slightly troubled expression etched across his features.  
  
"You don't have to tell me if you're going to get mad about it. I'll just le--"  
  
"It's not that,"  
  
She said, and without really thinking, Daria pressed a hand against his arm.  
  
Funny - Daria found a very, very small sense of panic rising in her now that he was hinting he might leave. Why was that? Because I'm a moron, she thought dryly.  
  
"I just don't know how to phrase it. It was an argument, but..."  
  
Trent looked at her hand in mild surprise, but made no move to remove it. Instead, he continued to walk, and Daria followed. She wanted to pull her hand off his arm, but instead, her fingers curled gently around his arm. He had no reaction. His warmth was strangely comforting as Daria continued,  
  
"He blew up at me. He said I was expecting too much from him."  
  
"Were you?"  
  
"I don't know,"  
  
Daria said truthfully,  
  
"But I think he was over-reacting. He didn't have to get mad. I wasn't even aware of what he felt until today."  
  
Something flickered in Trent's eyes, and he glanced at her hand at his arm before looking at the pavement again.  
  
"You should have talked it out."  
  
He commented. Daria sighed depressingly.  
  
"I know. But he was yelling at me, so I felt inclined to yell back. Guess that was pretty stupid."  
  
"What did he say to get you so riled up, anyway?"  
  
"He told me to get a makeover."  
  
His eyebrows shot up.  
  
"He did?"  
  
"Well... not exactly. Just something similar."  
  
Her shoulders sagged as Tom's words ran through her brain.  
  
***Definitely not enough.***  
  
Was she not good enough for him? Was that what he was implying? But she had dated Tom with the reassurance that he liked her for what she was, not for what she could be.  
  
A flash of colour caught her eye, and Daria turned her head slightly to her left. The colours were from Trent's rings. The lamp-light reflected soft shines of ocean blue and turquoise off the stones set in his rings. She admired how the rings looked fitting on his long and thin fingers. The ends of his fingertips were callused and hardened from his guitar, and the rings seemed to add the same extra edge to the rest of his hand.  
  
"Daria?"  
  
The voice sounded almost distant. She nodded vaguely in response.  
  
"...Uh... are you listening?"  
  
Then she realised she was staring at Trent's hand and not listening to a word he was saying. Jolted back to Earth, she blurted out,  
  
"Sorry!! Go on."  
  
Daria caught amusement on his face before he said,  
  
"He's probably frustrated."  
  
"Like I'm not."  
  
"Daria, you don't seem too much of the type to truly open up, you know? So... he probably doesn't know how *much* you're opening up to him."  
  
She rolled her eyes.  
  
"I think he knows enough about me."  
  
"Probably not as much as I do,'  
  
Trent began, then abruptly burst into coughs.  
  
Daria blinked, and Trent continued,  
  
"Anyway. He'll probably figure he's at fault. He's a cool guy - he'll realise sooner or later and call you up to apologise. Whatever."  
  
She sighed, and scraped her boot along a crack in the pavement as they walked.  
  
"Maybe that's the problem. Maybe he's *too* nice. Too patient with me."  
  
Trent's eyebrows rose.  
  
"That's not right."  
  
"Oh, I don't know. Sure feels like it."  
  
Daria looked moodily at Trent's rings as the two walked in silence. Guilt was starting to invade her personal boundaries. That was *not* good. Trent seemed to be thinking about her words, and after a few minutes, he broke the silence by saying softly,  
  
"Maybe you're just not used to guys like him."  
  
Smiling a little, she shook her head.  
  
"To be blatantly honest with you, Trent? I don't like it when he nettles my conscience. He's actually capable of making me feel guilt."  
  
Daria felt Trent's arm shift away from her touch and was promptly startled by his fingers trailing gently against her back. His hand settled at her shoulder, where he gave a small reassuring squeeze.  
  
She lifted her eyes to his face. He was smiling at her. Daria felt like she was malfunctioning. Damn it, girl, she told herself annoyedly, why are you being affected now? He's being the nice older brother kind of guy. And listen to what he's saying, damn it.  
  
"Don't let it get to you,"  
  
Trent said gently,  
  
"He probably doesn't even realise he's making you feel that way. He'll come around."  
  
Daria felt a smile lift her lips...and a warm blush tinge her cheeks. Blush? Suspicious of herself, she gave Trent a glance, and felt the blush deepen. Damn it! It's those rings, she thought, they're reflecting Trent onto me. And his hand on my shoulder - it's heavy and it's warm and it's influencing me, too. Plus his smile. His smile is something you just can't...  
  
"Do *not* go there, Morgendorffer,"  
  
She muttered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Uh, nothing. I mean... uhm... thanks."  
  
"Anytime."  
  
He smiled again, and Daria felt her brain refuse to function properly yet again. Damn, she thought, think of your boyfriend, Tom, Tom, Tom... She pictured him, his blue eyes and his charming smile. Somehow, it didn't have much affect against her feelings on Trent.  
  
"We're here."  
  
He said. Daria almost jumped. Instead, she let him walk her up to the front door. His arm lifted off her as she turned around.  
  
"Thanks. I feel much better now."  
  
"Just talk to Tom about it."  
  
He suggested. Daria nodded, and looking at Trent's face, smiled warmly.  
  
"Yeah. I think I will."  
  
Trent suddenly looked a little nervous, his eyes darting to the windows. It seemed pretty devoid of people. So were the pavements behind.  
  
"Uhm, Daria... if.. this whole... Tom thing... doesn't work out...?"  
  
He ended the sentence as a question, befuddling Daria.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Uh, what I mean is..."  
  
He cannot be saying what I think he's saying, Daria thought with a raised eyebrow. He was avoiding her gaze.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Er... if it doesn't... uhm... ah, whatever,"  
  
He muttered, and pressing his arm onto the door behind Daria's head, leant in and pressed his lips against hers. She was too surprised to respond as he kissed her, her head cushioned against his arm, but just as abruptly as he'd initiated it, he broke it off and took a step back. Daria was surprised further to see him embarrassed.  
  
"Uhh... sorry. Forget I just did that."  
  
He turned to leave. Daria found her voice again.  
  
"Hang on a minute."  
  
He faced her with an expression of obvious surprise.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
She crossed her arms and leaned against the front door expectantly.  
  
"What was that just now? You kiss me, and you expect to just walk off and get away with it? Trent, just because I'm in high school doesn't mean you can just--"  
  
He took a single stride and had her back pressed against the door, interrupting her words with his mouth as he kissed her deeply. She pushed her lips in motion in response to his, and a few seconds later, he broke the kiss and gently pressed his forehead to hers. He looked quite flushed.  
  
Then Daria blurted out,  
  
"DAMN IT!!"  
  
"I can see you regretted that one big time."  
  
"No, I didn't. That's the problem! I got tangled up into a relationship with two kisses last time. And this time, you're not dating my best friend, but I've got a boyfriend! I'm a bitch! Damn it, I'm a backstabbing bitch!"  
  
Trent said with a hint of amusement,  
  
"Nah, not really. I guess I'll just kiss you for a third time to make you feel better."  
  
"Wha--?"  
  
He swiftly kissed her again to end her protest. Stepping back to let her breathe, Trent affectionately took his fingers to her neck and brushed her stray hairs back behind her shoulder. Daria could feel an intense blush colouring her cheeks. As their eyes met, however, there was no shy awkwardness. They exchanged smiles.  
  
"Well... if it doesn't work out with Tom."  
  
Trent said lightly, and gave Daria a fourth kiss, but this time to her cheek. A peck of friendship. Her smile widening, Daria nodded as Trent stepped away from the Morgendorffer household.  
  
He gave her a last glance as he stepped onto the sidewalk. Daria waved, and he smiled before walking on.  
  
She let herself in and ran up to her room quickly, ignoring her parents and Quinn and throwing herself onto her bed.  
  
Okay, to put it bluntly, Daria felt a two-timing bitch. Then again, Trent had brought their relationship back to friendship with the kiss to her cheek. She felt like the first three were sort of to prove himself to her. But what about Tom? She liked Tom too, she supposed. But why did she feel like it had staled? Did it happen because of Trent, or before that?  
  
She was interrupted with the phone ringing. Picking up at the fifth ring after discovering the source of irritation at her side, she heard Quinn's voice blare through the ear-piece *and* through the stairway,  
  
"DAAAR-IIIAAAAAAA, IT'S TOOOOOOM!!"  
  
"I've got it!"  
  
Daria called back, and spoke into the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Daria... it's Tom."  
  
"Please. I just got my eardrums blasted apart from that information."  
  
She heard him chuckle before he said earnestly,  
  
"Listen, Daria, I'm sorry I was a real jerk earlier on tonight."  
  
Daria smirked. It looked like Trent was right about Tom. He was a pretty decent guy in his patience aspect. Daria had hardly any herself.  
  
"If you want, we can talk it over tomorrow over another round of pizza."  
  
"Nah. Let's try some place different."  
  
Daria suggested.  
  
She was beginning to feel a little afraid of her new development with Trent. Tom was beginning to look frighteningly old. His newness to her was something Daria had treasured very much, and she didn't want to lose that so quickly. Besides, wasn't *Trent* supposed to be old? But those kisses were definitely on unexplored territory...  
  
"Yeah, okay. I have to admit, I was getting a little sick of pizza. How does lobster sound to you?"  
  
"It sounds fine,"  
  
Daria said distractedly.  
  
That night, just as she was curling up in bed, the facts hit her.  
  
She felt her stomach twist itself into a knot as she realised the break up between her and Tom was inevitable. It wasn't even entirely because of Trent, because she even knew what she was going to say to Tom when they had to break up. The knot tightened when she realised the time they had to split was coming soon.  
  
Then, at the memory of the passion in Trent's kisses, the knots dissolved.  
  
"Daria Morgendorffer,"  
  
She mumbled into her pillow,  
  
"You probably deserve to go to hell."  
  
But she still couldn't stop herself from smiling.  
  
  
  
  
  
// A/N:: I thought I should add this note. I actually didn't want to add one, but there were so many expectations of this continuing I just had to... ^^;; The following note has spoilers for 'Is it College Yet?' so don't look unless you want to.  
  
What I wanted to do with this fic was sort of 'explain' Daria's reasons for breaking up with Tom in the last movie. You could just see her frustration mounting, and frankly, I'm not surprised or sorry she broke up. But I'm glad they stayed friends. However, I found it really interesting how the movie did not show any interaction between her or Trent. Considering how they spent three seasons developing Daria's crush, then switched over to Tom by the fourth season.  
  
I tried to sort of explain Daria's sudden change of feelings in the transition from Trent to Tom in the ficlet. I felt there were valid reasons. The show also portrayed Trent's advance in his relationship with Daria in 'Jane's Addition' when he kissed her on the cheek. I thought the show just kinda left that hanging when Daria dated Tom. It was weird.  
  
So this ficlet is not a spin-to-another-conclusion just before 'Is it College Yet?'. It's an insert as an attempt to answer a few unanswered questions and weave in my ideas as to why Daria dated and broke up with Tom. I do like Daria/Trent, but I also feel it makes for sense for Daria to date Tom first. So in the ficlet, I just had Trent tell Daria how he felt without words, then return them back to friend status. We never know how they act to each other after a while in 'Is it College Yet?', so I thought I'd explore that territory. This isn't a drama - it's an exploration. The ending is supposed to be open.  
  
In conclusion, if I add any chapters at all, it will be the same event occurring with Trent's POV.  
  
I guess I could have patched up lots of things in the ficlet... The funniest thing is that I don't hate Tom at all. I think he's a pretty sweet guy - I just don't think he's for Daria. I guess I really sucked at portraying that. I didn't mean to make him sound like a jerk - I wanted to make it obvious he actually has problems with Daria beneath the nice exterior. Their differences, quite unfortunately, are crucial to a relationship, so it's really no wonder Daria just wants to stay friends in the end.  
  
Before this turns into an essay, I'm leaving this alone, and just because I feel guilty, I've added a VERY SHORT something below that happens after the graduation of Daria's year from Lawndale High.  
  
// End A/N.  
  
  
  
  
  
Straight after the graduation of Lawndale High, everyone threw up their graduation caps and cheered. Loudly.  
  
Tears and joy mixed and lay thick in the semi-emotional atmosphere.  
  
Jane and Daria shared a smile mixed with relief and a tiny, tiny barely visible ounce of remorse.  
  
Before Daria could crack a comment, however, Trent swooped out from no where to give his sister a rare, big hug.  
  
"Hey, hey, big brother, it's not that much of big deal."  
  
Jane said this smiling, but Daria could tell she was trying her best not to break into tears at the sad yet happy expression Trent had. He kissed her on the cheek all the same, then cast his eyes on Daria.  
  
"Congratulations Daria,"  
  
He said as he eyed the graduation cap still on Daria' head,  
  
"You're now a college girl."  
  
"Thanks,"  
  
She said, and he got off Jane to hug her tightly.  
  
A pleasant blush spread across her cheeks at the intimacy and at Jane's surprise. Daria found it deepening when Trent's lips traced the rim of her ear.  
  
"Anytime."  
  
He murmured.  
  
The double-meaning was immediately obvious to Daria, and she smiled.  
  
"I know." 


End file.
